I address this august gathering after we celebrated Freedom Day last week, a
day that marks a significant and historic paradigm shift in the history of
our country. On that day 18 years ago, South Africans elected not only a new
democratic government, but by that act of placing a ballot paper in the
ballot box, they pinned their hopes on this ANC government and we should
never fail them and we should also never fail the legacy of Tata Mandela.

When the gates of Victor Verster Prison flung open, releasing Tata Mandela,
he took those memorable first steps that symbolised the many steps we were
to take as a people in our quest to move our country to a new era of
sustainable development. His exemplary stature taught us to be selfless and
dedicated in pursuit of the betterment of the lives of our people and the
restoration of their dignity after many decades of humiliating and degrading
apartheid laws.

His release from incarceration further symbolised the emergence of a
paradigm where as a nation we recognised that development should benefits us
today, whilst at the same time we should not deprive future generations
access to the same resources and natural assets.

This year is special as it also marks the 16th anniversary of our country’s
Constitution, which gives full expression to our democratic ideals,
substance and relevance to the work of the environment sector.
Since 1994, we have embarked on a journey to fulfill the rights enshrined in
our constitution – to an environment conducive to health and well-being
which is protected for the benefit of present and future generations.
These are some of the pillars on which sustainable development programmes of
our department and sector are resting and have been our guiding principles
in our national and international engagements.

COP 17 and Climate Change
Ladies and gentlemen, last year South Africa hosted and participated in the
17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change and the 7th Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, in
Durban. The final outcome was historic and precedent-setting.

This agreement significantly advances the global effort needed now to
address the global climate change challenge. It sets a new long-term pathway
for the development of a fair, ambitious and legally binding future
multi-lateral and rules-based global climate change system which can balance
climate and development imperatives.

It also ensures the fair participation of all countries, both developed and
developing, in the increased global effort to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, now and in the future.
The success of COP 17 was due largely due to Team SA’s response to our
clarion call last year for a partnership akin to the one during the 2010
Soccer World Cup.

We used COP 17 to host a very successful and cutting edge expo that
demonstrated South Africa’s approach, and real practical action in
responding to climate change, it also acted as a forum for engagement and
building partnerships. I am therefore proud to announce that from next year,
the Environmental Sustainability Climate Change Response Expo will be hosted
as an annual event.

Let me take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the various
communities – youth, women, traditional authorities, business, academia,
non-governmental organisations, media and Government Departments and
entities – who worked with us in the preparation towards and engagement
during the COP 17 and all its related activities.

Re a leboga bagaetsho!

Mabogo dinku aa thebana!

Working together we can do more

We went to the COP 17 negotiations, shortly after Cabinet’s approval of our
National Climate Change Response Policy, which presents our country’s vision
and strategic approach for achieving an effective climate change response,
and a just transition to a climate resilient and lower carbon and
job-creating economy and society.

Our priority for this year is to make significant strides in implementing
the policy. In consultation with all stakeholders, we will co-ordinate a
process to define South Africa’s desired emission reduction outcomes, based
on an in-depth assessment of mitigation potential in key sectors, as well as
an analysis of the mitigation contributions that each sector can make to the
national and global effort.
We will also initiate a process to develop long term adaptation scenarios,
to evaluate how changes in the climate may affect key climate - sensitive
sectors, such as water, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity in South
Africa, and identify adaptation strategies to prevent the undesirable
consequences of climate change, and thereby increase South Africa’s
resilience to climate change.
The ocean plays a significant role in the understanding climate, climate
variability and the impact of the ocean on the infrastructure, economy, as
well as the livelihoods of communities within coastal cities and towns.

Being surrounded by the Atlantic, Indian and Southern Oceans, presents South
Africa with a unique opportunity and responsibility to use our understanding
of ocean, weather and climate processes to achieve operational forecasts to
ensure safe use of our waters. This will help to protect human life, our
economy and also our marine biodiversity.

To address climate change mitigation strategies, the South African Weather
Service’s Global Atmosphere Watch station at the Cape Point has in the past
32 years formed a crucial component of the global network that maintains
long-term records on trace-gases and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
We are also developing monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure that we
are able to track our progress in reducing emissions and building
resilience.

Sustainable development and the road to Rio
As concerns for capacity of the earth’s resources to sustain the current
unsustainable production and consumption patterns grow, the global efforts
to reshape the sustainable development architecture to better respond to
this challenge and the emerging multiple financial and economic challenge
are becoming increasingly urgent.

Faced with the real threat of climate change impacts, sustainable
development becomes more pertinent and significant from the South African
and worldwide perspective.

Our strategic objective of ensuring that sustainable development remains
central in our planning and execution was further enhanced last year with
the approval of the National Strategy on Sustainable Development (NSSD) by
Cabinet.

The NSSD sets out the country’s sustainable development priorities and
actions over the next five years and puts us on a solid policy platform as
we prepare for the RIO plus 20 negotiations in Brazil next month.

This Summit also marks the tenth anniversary of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development which we hosted as South Africa. It was during this
Summit that South Africa pushed for an action oriented outcome with a set of
targets for sustainable development namely, the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation.

This Plan of Implementation provided a detailed course of action for the
implementation of 1992 Agenda 21 and the Millenium Development Goals.
Therefore, Rio plus 20 is not only about reviewing implementation of
sustainable development over the past 20 years but is seen as a platform to
address emerging challenges in implementing sustainable development over the
next 20 years.
 

Rio plus 20 will address thematic areas like green economy within the
context of sustainable development and poverty reduction and the reform of
the international institutional framework supporting sustainable development
globally.

We especially look forward to the global elaboration of a Green Economy in
the context of sustainable development, and taking cue from that, we will
chart the way forward for the environment sectors’ contribution to a just
transition to a pro-poor and job creating green economy in South Africa
 

The drafting of our country’s position for RIO plus 20 is therefore being
conducted through an extensive multi-stakeholder process which includes
participation of government, business, labour, local government and other
relevant partners.


The Green Economy and Jobs
It is incumbent upon us to debunk the myth that environment management
hinders development, by positioning the sector as a major contributor to job
creation and the fight against poverty.

To quote the late great Wangari Maathai: “The environment and the economy
are really both two sides of the same coin. You cannot sustain the economy
if you don’t take care of the environment because we know that the resources
that we use whether it is oil, energy, land … all of these are the basis in
which development happens. And development is what we say generates a good
economy and puts money in our pockets. If we cannot sustain the environment,
we cannot sustain ourselves.” End quote.
The South African government has identified the green economy as one of the
key elements in the new growth path as well as in the industrial policy
action plan.

The transformation of our industries towards the building of a green economy
has many facets. It is, in the main, about creating new labour absorbing
industries that also mitigate impacts on the environment.

This green economy offers substantial opportunities for job creation and
development in the environmental goods and services sector, particularly in
biodiversity, waste and natural resource management services.

However, the skills required to realise the job potential in the sector are
scarce and students with relevant qualifications are often unable to bridge
the gap between education and employment requirements.

The incubation method, which we will utilise in the sector for the very
first time, is a unique way to tackle the bridging of this gap.

Through the South African National Biodiversity Institute – SANBI- we will
manage the process of placing a maximum of 800 unemployed school- leavers
and graduates mostly from rural areas in biodiversity jobs for an incubation
period of two and a half years.

SANBI will assist in ensuring that participants are mentored and receive
relevant skills and experience to gain employability and access to permanent
jobs in biodiversity and ecosystem management services.
We are aware that unlocking the substantial economic benefits of
biodiversity is going to require a sizeable cohort of skilled South
Africans.

For this reason we have mandated SANBI to pioneer a national capacity
development programme for the entire biodiversity sector.

SANBI’s application to the jobs fund titled Catalysing Access to Employment
and Job Creation in Ecosystem Management was approved by the Development
Bank of Southern Africa to the tune of 300 million Rands.

Ladies and gentlemen, we recognise that a just global transition to a
low-carbon, resource efficient and sustainable economy has the potential to
create jobs across many sectors of the economy, and indeed we can become an
engine of development.

To this end, over the past few months we began engagements with various
youth formations and communities with the objective to create long-lasting
strategic relationships that will contribute towards enterprise development
and the creation of sustainable jobs throughout the country, with special
focus on urban and rural development for the true and real advancement of a
working green economy.

Next month as we celebrate Youth Month, we will roll-up our sleeves by
launching the first phase of the countrywide green hubs with various
satellite and regional operations.

Honourable Members, last year we committed to implementing an environment
sector Green Economy implementation plan through a local and international
partnership with green investments, supported by domestic funding from the
National Treasury’s Green Fund, as well as international funding through
bilateral cooperation programmes and multilateral facilities such as the
World Bank Clean Technology Fund and the newly established Green Climate
Fund.
It is envisaged that we will utilize this funding in a catalytic manner so
as to attract new and additional investment, stimulate job creation and lay
the foundations for South Africa’s transition to a low carbon job-creating
and resource efficient growth path.
I am happy to announce that the National Treasury has made available 800
million Rands for the Green Fund over the next 2 financial years, which
represents a critical resource mechanism to achieve a just transition to a
low carbon, resource efficient and job creating green economy growth path in
South Africa as envisaged by the new growth path, climate change and
National Sustainable Development policies.

We have finalised processes with National Treasury and in this financial
year will roll out the implementation of the Green Fund and have appointed
the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as an implementing agency for
the green fund managed by a multi-stakeholder Management Committee chaired
by the department.

The primary objective of the Green Fund is to provide catalytic finance for
high quality, high impact green economy projects and mainstreaming
activities which would not have been implemented without fiscal support.

The Green Fund and the activities it supports will be used to leverage
additional funding through a targeted resource mobilisation plan, including
from Overseas Development Assistance and donor funds relating to green
economy and climate change priorities.

These would be pursued in the context of the national development
priorities. A true working green economy is a lot more achievable through a
patriotic and growing participation of various social partners.

Mabogo dinku a a thebana!

Working together we can do more

This is exemplified by our ongoing roll-out of amongst others the National
Waste Management Strategy, continues to contribute to the creation of varied
Industries that are deliberately structured to deliver sustainable
livelihoods, as we forge ahead to become the real leader in the
implementation of green life-styles.

Honourable Members, our various environmental programmes linked to the
Expanded Public Works Programmes are rightfully well known for their ability
to give the resources and dignity of work to previously unemployed people.
What is sometimes overlooked is the value of the work that is done. For
example, the CSIR has calculated that the value of the water saved through
the clearing of invasive alien plants, which is the focus of our Working for
Water programme – is put at 400 billion Rands overall.

Furthermore, there are many other benefits, including relating to biological
diversity, food security, soil erosion, siltation of dams, destructive wild
fires and much more. All these add to the returns on investment.

Another example relates to the Working on Fire programme. Forestry South
Africa calculated that the damage to the Forestry Industry through major
fires in August, 2008, was worth about 3.6 billion Rands - but that this
could have doubled had it not been for the Working on Fire partnership.

Whilst the programmes are clearly justified for the outcomes they provide,
it is widely recognized that unemployment and inequity are the twin
challenges facing our country, and these programmes play a critical role in
combating these scourges. Last year we created 26 700 new work
opportunities amounting to 11 676 full time equivalent jobs and 26 891
accredited training person days.

We welcome additional funding of 1.1 billion Rands for the Working for Water
and Working on Fire programmes of the Department over the MTEF.

This will bring the total budget for the Environmental Programmes to 7.7
billion Rands over the MTEF, and will provide 205 877 work opportunities and
102 603 full-time equivalent jobs over this three-year period.

In this financial year, we aim to create 62 860 work opportunities, 31 277
full-time equivalent jobs, and 600 youth benefiting from the National Youth
Service in addition to 40% of the work being done by youth.

We also aim to ensure that 55% of beneficiaries from our programmes are
women, and 2% are for people with disabilities.

Environmental Impact Assessments
Our challenge as a nation in a developing state context is to find a balance
between economic growth, social development and environmental
sustainability.

We need to be mindful of the fact that without the integrity of our natural
systems, there will be no sustained long-term economic growth or life.

Supported by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), we
have developed ground-breaking information tools to help streamline
development, whilst safeguarding natural resources on which (our) society
depends.

Towards the third quarter of this year, Minister Shabangu and I will
co-launch the National Mining and Biodiversity Guideline in partnership with
industry.

This guideline provides the mining sector with a practical, user-friendly
tool for integrating biodiversity considerations into the planning processes
and managing biodiversity during the operational phases of a mine, from
exploration through to closure.

In pursuit of South Africa's developmental pathway, a shared vision and
common goal of sustainability has emerged as a strong driver of industry
values and societal behaviour.

South Africa’s mineral endowment implies that mining and the environment
will continue to interact and would need to walk this path together to
achieve prosperity in a sustainable environment – it is therefore in the
spirit of cooperation that these guidelines have been developed such that
South Africa’s incredible biodiversity and life supporting ecological
processes are not compromised and neither is